Puerto Rico House Bill 1092 (2026): nuclear energy and small modular reactors in the energy policy act

A Puerto Rico bill would write nuclear energy and small modular reactors into the territory's energy diversification policy act, define nuclear energy as clean energy, repeal local restrictions on nuclear generation and leave licensing to federal law. It passed the House 35 to 11 on 15 June 2026 and is before the Senate. It is not law.

Category: Bills, proposed rules and consultations
Status: Proposed — not in effect
Instrument: bill · P. de la C. 1092, 20th Legislative Assembly, as passed by the House on 15 June 2026
Issued by: Puerto Rico House of Representatives
Jurisdiction: Puerto Rico
Affects: Siting, State programme administration
Effective date: Not recorded
Expiry or completion: None recorded
Operative text: Puerto Rico P. de la C. 1092: text of final approval by the House (15 June 2026) (Text of final approval by the House, 15 June 2026)
Last checked · next review: 2026-10-05 · 2026-11-24

Legal and geographic scope

Bill to amend Articles 1.2, 1.4 and 2.3 of Act 82-2010, Puerto Rico's energy diversification policy act. As passed by the House, it adds small modular reactors to the emerging technologies the policy contemplates, defines nuclear energy as a form of clean energy and lists it among sustainable or clean renewable sources, and provides that wherever this or any other law, administrative order or regulation refers to the Renewable Energy Portfolio or to renewable energy, the reference means any clean, alternative, sustainable or renewable source as defined in the act. It directs the University of Puerto Rico to develop curricula, research and community education on nuclear energy. Section 6 would repeal any Puerto Rico law, regulation or order that restricts or prohibits generation by nuclear reactors, make research, licensing and regulation of nuclear energy subject exclusively to federal law, including Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules, bar local requirements beyond federal ones on the operation of nuclear reactors while keeping functions that federal agencies have delegated to Puerto Rico agencies, direct the Planning Board, the permits office and the economic development department to set a permitting framework that meets Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements, and treat small modular reactors as strategic projects for permitting. The bill would take effect immediately on approval.

Not approved or still pending

The bill is not law. It passed the House on 15 June 2026 and was referred to the Senate Government Committee on 19 June 2026; the legislature's tracker, read on 5 October 2026, lists no Senate vote and no action by the governor. Act 82-2010 is unchanged unless the bill is enacted. Nothing in the bill licenses, funds or sites a reactor, and no project is linked.

Dated lifecycle

29 Jan 2026 · actual · day · Introduced — Filed on 29 January 2026. It was first read and referred to the House Government Committee on 2 February 2026, then on 5 February 2026 to the House Economic Development Committee, which reported it with amendments in June 2026. The filed text is not the text the House passed. (Puerto Rico P. de la C. 1092: text as filed (29 January 2026))
15 Jun 2026 · actual · day · Passed — The House passed the bill in final vote on 15 June 2026, 35 in favour and 11 against. It had its first reading in the Senate and was referred to the Senate Government Committee on 19 June 2026. House passage is not enactment. (Puerto Rico legislative tracker (SUTRA): P. de la C. 1092)

Definitions in this instrument

Reactores Modulares Pequeños (Small Modular Reactors, SMR) (Section 3, proposed Article 1.4(36)): Advanced nuclear reactors with a limited generating capacity per unit, lower than that of traditional power reactors, able to produce large amounts of low-carbon electricity. The proposed definition states no megawatt limit.
Legal definition proposed by this bill only; SMRMap's inclusion rule for SMRs is separate and unchanged.

Projects or designs named by the source

None. Location in this jurisdiction does not make a project eligible for, or approved under, this measure.

Sources

Puerto Rico P. de la C. 1092: text of final approval by the House (15 June 2026) (government_primary, accessed 2026-10-05)
Puerto Rico P. de la C. 1092: text as filed (29 January 2026) (government_primary, accessed 2026-10-05)
Puerto Rico legislative tracker (SUTRA): P. de la C. 1092 (government_primary, accessed 2026-10-05)